WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Minutes after voting to acquit Donald Trump of the impeachment charge, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said there is still “no question” that Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking” the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.
McConnell said he could not vote to convict Trump because he is “constitutionally not eligible for conviction” because he is no longer president.
He added that a conviction would have created a dangerous precedent that would give the Senate power to convict private political rivals and bar them from holding future office.
McConnell added that impeachment is a “narrow tool for a narrow purpose.”
The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday to acquit Trump. A conviction required 67 votes.